Grain-door



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H- PRIES 827 J. W. MEYER.

GRAIN DOOR.

Patented OQt 27, 1896,-

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(No Model.) s Shets-Sheet 2.

" H. FRIES & W. MEYER.

GRAIN DOOR. No. 570.269. Patented Oct. 27; 1896.

J m l (No Model.) 3 SI 1 e t s--Sheet 3.

H. FRIES & J. W. MEYER.

GRAIN DOOR.

WNW q H G I MP UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC HERMAN FRIES AND JOHN IV. MEYER, OF MICHIGAN CITY, INDIANA.

GRAIN-DOOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 570,269, dated October 27, 1896.

Application filed June 29, 1896. Serial No. 597,451. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

7 Be it known that we, HERMAN PRIES and JOHN W. MEYER,citizens'of the United States, residing at Michigan City, in the county of La Porto and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-Doors; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to a novel construction in a grain-door for freight-cars, the object being to provide a device of this description which will be easily operated and which will not fall to the floor of the car when the lower end of the same is accidentally allowed to drop when released from the hook at the top of the car.

Our invention consists in the features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating our invention, Figure l is a view in elevation from the interior of a car of a grain-door c011 structed in accordance with our invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional View, on an enlarged scale, showing the upper end of the guide in which the grain-door moves and the hinge by which the auxiliary door is secured to the main door. Fig. 4 is a sectional View on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the door, showing it hung up at the roof of the car when not in use. Fig. 6 is a detail View in elevation of the hinge between the main and auxiliary doors. Fig. 7 is a detail View in elevation of a door-plate provided with guide-lugs. Fig. 8 is a detail front elevation of the-hook engaging the end of the door for holding it in the position shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 9 is a detail sectional view. of the guides we employ. Fig. 10 is a bottom plan view of the cornerplate and guide-lugs.

Our invention relates to certain improvements upon the car-door forming subject of Letters Patent No. 335,169, granted to Williamson and Pries February-2, 1886, and of Letters Patent N 0. 348,694, granted to N. P. Rogers September 7, 1886, as hereinafter clearly specified.

In the accompanying drawings, A indicates the grain-door, to the upper corners of which corner-plates 1, provided with outwardly-ex tending lugs 2 and 3 on their side flanges a, are secured. Guides 4 are secured to the door-posts and are adapted to receive said guide-lugs 2 and 3. Said guides 4 consist of plates 5, provided with longitudinal outwardly-extending portions 6, bent over and interiorly channeled, as at 7, and extending outwardly, as at 8, parallel with the plate 5, so as to leave a space between the door-post and said portion 8 of the guide in which the lugs 2 and 3 move. Said guide-lugs or projections 2 and 3 are provided with outwardlyextending lugs 9 and 10 at their ends, which are adapted to enter the channels-7 in the guides 4. In this manner the door A is held securely in place and cannot be removed by twisting or turning the door edgewise, as has heretofore been possible, until the lugs leave the guides. Owing to the lugs 9 and 10, which engage the faces of the channel 7, the door cannot be twisted or turned edgewise. The said lug 2 is of greater width than said lug 3,

so that it cannot leave the guide through the notch 11 therein, while said lug 3 is of a width just sufficient to pass through said notch 11.

The upper end of the guide 4 is enlarged to form a pocket 12, in which the lug 2 is adapted to turn. The width of the lug 2 is suchthat it cannot enter the guides below the pocket until the door assumes a vertical position. The upper portion 12 of the wall of said pocket 12 extends downwardly in an inclined curve to the main portion 12 which protrudes beyond the front face of the portion 6 of said 1 guides 4 and meets the same at its upper end.

The lower portion of said pocket 12 is recessed, said recess being a continuation of the channel 7 and is adapted to receive the lower end of the lug 9, which extends below the lower edge of the lug 2. Said lug 9 is also provided with a curved outer face, whereby it is enabled toextend further into said pocket 12 when the door is in the position shown'in Fig.

3 than it otherwise would. p

The lug 3 is of greater wid'th'adjacentlthe flange a of the corner-plateithanat its outer end, the upper corner being cut away, Las at 13. This wide portion of; said lug moves be.-,

tween the door-post and portion 8 of the guide and affords greater strength for that portion. The portion 8 of said guide 4 is cut away, as at 14, to allow the passage of the wide portion of said lug 3 therethrough, while the remainder of said notch 11 is cut to the rear wall of the channel 7 and is just wide enough to permit the passage of the narrow portion of said lug 3 and lug therethrough. A downwardly-inclined outwardly-extending flange 15 is provided at the lower end of the notch 11, against the lower end of the upper face of which the lower edge of the lug 3 is adapted to abut when the door is in the position shown in Fig. 3.

A plate 16 is secured to the door-frame at the upper end of the pocket 12 and is provided with an outwardly-extending wedgeshaped lug 1 7, which protrudes into the pocket 12 and the upper face of which lies against the upper wall of said pocket. The object of this lug is to throw the lug 2 outwardly into the forward portion of the pocket as the door is raised. As the door is quite heavy it is usually raised with a sudden jerk and moves very quickly, so that as the lug 2 strikes the lug 17 it is thrown outwardly with considerable force. At the same time that said lug 2 is thrown outwardly the lug 3 passes through the notch 11, the outward motion being communicated to the latter, also owing to the fact that the operator takes hold of the cleats 18 at the lower end of the door to raise the same and the outward pressure exerted by him acts only slightly upon the upper end of the door. After the lug 3 has passed through the notch 11 the door drops until the lower edge of the lug 2 rests upon the lower portion of the wall of the pocket 12, as shown in Fig. 3, the lower edge of the lug 3 resting against the upper face of the flange 15, as above de scribed.

A recessed plate 19 is sunk into the outer face of the door A near its lower edge, which is adapted to receive the upwardly-projecting end 20 of the hook 21, which is pivotally secured to one of the roof-beams of the car when said door is raised and not in use. The said hook 21. is also provided with outwardlyextending lugs 22, against which the inner edge of the door will abut and obviously cause the portion 21 thereof to move into position to enter the recess in said plate 19.

One of the advantages of our construction over the Williamson and Fries and the Rogers devices above referred to is that when the hook 21 is released and the doorA is dropped to its vertical position with force the same will retain the position shown in Fig. 3. This is owing to the fact that the flange 15 acts as a fulcrum for the lug 3, upon which the door will turn,and force the lug 2 against the outer portion of the wall of the pocket 12 and will counteract the tendency of the lug 3 to slide over said flange 15, owing to the similar incline of the upper portion of the wall of the pocket 12 and the opposite direction of motion of the lug 2. The lug 2 will be forced downwardly by said inclined wall of the pocket with the same power as said lug 3 is forced upwardly. In order to allow said door to move downwardly to the floor of the car, the operator lifts it by the cleats 23 and at the same time pushes it outwardly until the lug 3 has passed through the notch 11 and then lets it down.

Grain-doors are usually provided with auxiliary doors which are hinged thereto at their upper ends and whose purpose is to form an extension of the main door to permit the car to be more heavily loaded.

To provide a perfectly grain-tight joint between the main door A and auxiliary door 13 at all times, we have constructed a hinge 24, consisting of a member 30, provided with a bifurcated end, each side of which is provided with a loop 25, and a member 26, provided with a projection 27, adapted to enter the bifurcated end of the member 24, and having pivot-lugs 28 at its end adapted to enter the loops 25. Said loops 25 are almost triangular in shape, the walls of the outer ends of the same being parallel and adapted to receive the lugs 28 between the same. The outer wall of the loop extends outwardly from the end portion thereof to enlarge said loop at its other end to permit the transverse movement of the lugs 28 therein. The end walls 29 of said loops extend perpendicularly from the plate 30 and meet the outerwall thereof. The projection 27 is cast in the shape of a rib and extends perpendicularly from the plate 31 at the middle of its end portion and outwardly beyond the end thereof. Said projection 27 is also practically triangular in shape, the highest portion or apex thereof being adapted to abut against the plate 30 and act as a fulcrum for said member 26. The pivot-lugs are mounted at outer projecting end of said projection 27. In order to permit the insertion of the lugs 28 into said loops, the bifurcated end of the plate 30 is interiorly cut away to provide a larger opening 32, through which the end of the projection 27 may extend when the plane of the plate 31 is parallel with the plane of one of the long edges of the plate 30, until the lugs 28 are beyond the outer face of said plate 30. By turning said plate upon said projection 27 as a pivot the lugs 28 will enter the loops 25. This must obviously be done before both of said members are secured to the respective doors. It will also be obvious that after both of said members of said hinge are secured to the doors it will be impossible to separate them.

Owing to the fact that the pivot-lugs 28 are transversely movable in the loops 25 the hinge can be secured to the doors between the cleats, as this transverse movement will compensate for the thickness of the cleats and enable the auxiliary door to lie flat against the main door. The main advantage of this construction, however, lies in the fact that the lower edge of the auxiliary door will always remain in close contact with the upper edge of the main door and make a graintight joint, owing to the fact that in case .of

shrinkage the pivot-lugs will move clownwardly in the loops and compensate for such shrinkage. Said auxiliary doors are provided with suitable latches 32, which engage the guides 4 to hold said doors in their upright positions.

We claim as our invention 1. In a grain-door, the combination with guides provided with interior outwardly-extending channels provided with pockets at their upper ends and recesses below said pockets, of a plate adapted to be secured to the door and provided with guide-1n gs adapted to enter said guides, projections 011 the ends of said guide-lugs adapted to enter said channels in said guides, projections in said pockets adapted to engage the uppermost of said guidelugs and cause the same to enter said pockets and at the same time cause the lowermost of said guide-lugs to leave said guides through said recesses.

2. In a grain-door, the combination with a door provided with guide-lu gs providedwith projections at their ends, of guides secured to the door-posts and provided with interior channels adapted to receive said projections on said lugs, pockets at the upper end of said guides adapted to receive the uppermost of said guide-lugs, recesses in said guides, and inclined outwardly and downwardly extending flanges at the lower ends of said recesses, the lowermost lugs being adapted to leave said guides through said recesses and abut against said flanges to prevent their reentering the same until desired.-

3. Ina grain-doonahinge between the main and auxiliary doors comprising a member having a projection provided with pivot-lugs at its ends and a member havinga bifurcated end provided with loops adapted to receive said pivot-lugs, said loops having a portion in which said lugs are longitudinally movable and a portion in which said lugs are longitudinally and transversely movable whereby said auxiliary door is enabled to make a graintight joint with said main door when in use and to lie fiat upon said main door when not in use.

4. In a graiirdoor, a hinge between the main and auxiliary doors comprising a member having a projection provided with pivot-lugs at its ends, and a member provided with loops adapted to receivesaid pivot-lugs, said lugs being transversely and longitudinally movable in said loops in one position thereof and longitudinally movable only in another position thereof whereby said auxiliary door is enabled to make a grain-tight joint with said main door when in use and to lie fiat upon said main door when not in use.

5. In a grain-door, a hinge comprising a member having a bifurcated end and loops on said end, said recess in said end being enlarged to permit the insertion of the end of a projection on the other member of said hinge, and lugs 011 said projection on said other member, adapted to enter said loops through said enlarged portion of said recess.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

HERMAN FRIES. JOHN W. MEYER. \Vitnesses:

CHARLES PORTER, E. J. BoRLEAw. 

